Senescent cells accumulate in people as a result of stress, injuries, aging, and related insults leading to a multitude of diseases, conditions and pathologies. The removal of senescent cells could therefore provide a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of most humans.
Studies using genetically engineered mice have demonstrated that the destruction of senescent cells in a living organism reverses many disease-like pathologies. Unfortunately, unique exploitable markers (such as surface epitopes) that can be exploited to design drugs for the specific killing of senescent cells have not yet been identified. Thus, there is a need in the art for methods and compositions designed to specifically target and eliminate these cells in vivo. Ideally, elimination of such cells should occur through natural mechanisms such as apoptosis.